Your Options to Fight Traffic Tickets in California

OPTION 1

Plead NOT guilty and fight traffic tickets (Best Option)

To plead not guilty and fight the traffic tickets is be the most intelligent way of dealing with traffic tickets for traffic infractions and in a great majority of traffic ticket cases it can be relatively hassle free depending on your particular situation and the way you choose to deal with the traffic ticket. You may not even have to go to traffic court at all and get your traffic ticket dismissed with trial by written declaration.

If you choose to fight traffic tickets either with a Trial by Written Declaration or an in person Court Trial, our traffic ticket experts can help prepare your traffic ticket defense for you.

OPTION 2

Plead guilty and pay the fine for the traffic ticket (Bad Option)

A.     If you have not attended Traffic School in the recent 18 months, in most traffic ticket cases, you will be allowed by the traffic court, to attend traffic school. However, you still have to pay the traffic ticket fine as well as the court fees associated with traffic school (approximately $50). The only positive aspect of attending traffic school is that your DMV record will not reflect the traffic ticket points and therefore your insurance premium will not increase.

B.     If you have attended traffic school in the prior 18 months then you will not be allowed to attend traffic school. Therefore, if you plead guilty your DMV record will reflect the traffic ticket DMV points and result in increased insurance costs for the next 3 to 5 years that could add up to several hundreds or even thousands of dollars depending on many factors.

California traffic courts make it very easy to plead guilty and pay the fine for traffic tickets. Because of that most unaware people take the easy way out and pay without understanding their rights to fight traffic tickets.

Actually, if you try to access your designated traffic court on-line services (if available in your county), you will find that the traffic court makes it very easy for you to pay your traffic ticket fine (bail) and go to traffic school. The majority of the traffic courts in California will also provide you with information on attending traffic school as if this is your only choice. The reason for this is very simple. If you fight traffic tickets and get them dismissed the traffic court will not get your money.

In a great majority of traffic ticket cases, pleading guilty is the worst way of dealing with traffic tickets, whether you go to traffic school or not, for the following reasons:

• It could cost you several hundred dollars to pay the traffic ticket fine, the court fees for traffic school and the traffic school fees in addition to the time it takes to complete the traffic school course

• If you exhaust your right to attend traffic school on a traffic ticket that can easily be dismissed with Trial by Written Declaration or court trial in traffic court and you get another unbeatable traffic ticket during the next 18 months then you will certainly incur the cost of paying the traffic ticket fine for the second traffic ticket as well as the increased cost of insurance premium for the next 3 to 5 years

• If you have already made the mistake of not fighting a traffic ticket that could have been easily dismissed by a Trial by Written Declaration or in a Court Trial, and you have exhausted your right to attend traffic school on that prior traffic ticket, now if you
  plead guilty you must pay the fine and your insurance premium will increase for the next 3 to 5 years

It is always a good option to fight traffic tickets first and if the traffic ticket is not dismissed then to request traffic school.

Our traffic ticket staff can help you fight traffic tickets.